Bible Studies

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The Gospels
Luke 9:51-62 – Total Commitment

Key Verses: (NCV)

• 51: “When the time was coming near for Jesus to depart, He was determined to go to Jerusalem.” – Shortly following the Transfiguration when Jesus spoke with Moses and Elijah, He turned and set His sights on Jerusalem.
  
  
• 53: “But the people would not welcome Him…” – Animosity and hatred between the Jews and the Samaritans was the root cause of this refusal to provide Jesus with a place to stay for the evening.
  
  
• 54: “When James and John, followers of Jesus, saw this, they said, ‘Lord, do you want us to call fire down from heaven and destroy those people?” – The disciples wanted to retaliate for this insult from the Samaritans. Elijah, had called fire down from the heavens to kill fifty soldiers of king Ahaziah so they felt that similar retribution was due.
  
  
• 55: “But Jesus turned and scolded them.” – Jesus had come to save lives; not destroy them.
  
  
• 58: “Jesus said to them, ‘The foxes have holes to live in, and the birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to rest His head.’” – Jesus was teaching that to become one of His followers, the road would be weary.
  
  
• 60: “But Jesus said to him, ‘Let the people who are dead bury their own dead. You must go and tell about the kingdom of God.’” – Focusing on the details of life, worrying about them, and making them a priority is not the way of Jesus. As a disciple the focus must always be first and foremost on God and the task He has provided.
  
  
• 62: “Jesus said, ‘Anyone who begins to plow a field but keeps looking back is of no use in the kingdom of God.’” – A straight and true path is not attainable by looking anywhere but straight ahead to where God is leading.
  

Points to Contemplate:

• Do you want retribution? Are there people in your path who respond negatively to you? Are they turning their backs on your attempts to minister? Do their hearts remain cold and does their hatred for you fill the air with the stench of their disdain? Does this cause you to be angry? Does it boil up a passion within you to take action in order to show the world who is right? In these instances, Jesus says to temper your self-righteousness and keep your focus on the message of salvation you are bringing to the world.
  
  
• Do you want to follow Jesus wherever He leads? Are you blind with passion? Do you feel ready to drop everything in order to fulfill the calling God has placed on your heart? If so, then are you confused by what Jesus says to the disciple who is offering to follow Jesus? Why would He respond “The Son of Man has no place to rest His head?” Is He trying to dissuade His followers? Is He questioning your commitment? Or, is He simply saying that His path is not for the feint of heart or the partially committed?
  
  
• What is your focus in life? Where are you priorities? Do you have issues of your past that you feel need to be dealt with; buried in ceremony and ritual? Are there attractions in your life competing for your love of Christ? Is Jesus saying that we should drop everything, including our responsibilities to our families and loved ones, in order to follow Him? Or is He saying that being a disciple requires total dedication – not half-hearted commitments.¹ Are you willing to commit to living your life entirely the way Jesus is calling you to live it? Are you ready to eliminate the distractions in your life that lead you away from Christ?
  

Promises of the Gospel:

Jesus understands what lies ahead on the pathway to Jerusalem. He is committed to following the course that is set before Him all the way to the cross. As His followers attempt to get on board at this crucial moment, Jesus outlines three basic tenets to discipleship. First, we are to keep track of our purpose – spreading the good news of salvation throughout the world. Second, we are to drop the baggage of our past and allow Christ’s transforming love move us forward in ministry. And, finally, we must be fully committed and dedicated to His ministry; refusing to allow distractions and other priorities in our lives to come first. Life in ministry is not easy. It cannot be accomplished with half-hearted commitments. It requires full dedication to God. God does not want anything less than our best efforts and, if this is not possible, then we are wasting our time and doing a disservice to the kingdom.

¹Life Application Bible, notes and commentary on pp. 1770

FUMC Devotionals

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